Together
by OhMyEzria
Summary: A Year And A Half Ahead, And Ezra and Aria have a daughter, Scarlett. Thing's Couldn't Be Better, Not If They Tried. Come On Though, Who Stays Happy For Long?
1. Chapter 1

This is the new story, guys. It's just the first chapters which I know isn't all that good but I've been super busy today. Anyway, I hope you like it! It won't be as long as the I'll Be There, just adding this in here.  
Anyway, enjoy!

Sometimes people are just allowed to be happy.  
That was certainly the case for Aria and Ezra.  
A year and a half ago, Aria had finished at Rosewood High, and she was happily living with her boyfriend, Ezra. It was great, it was legal. They were happy.  
After yet another day at Hollis, Aria slumped up the stairs with her bag, throwing it on the floor as soon as she opened the apartment door.  
Her family, all except Mike, were ignoring her. They resented her for her decisions in life, her life choices. Who she had fallen in love with. Byron and Ella didn't like it, they made her choose between Ezra and them, and we can all guess who she went with.  
It wasn't a hard decision. In the end it all came down to Ezra, and besides. It wasn't just him.  
Spencer, Hanna and Emily seemed helpful. She was closer to Spencer than the other girls, it's the way that it had always been.  
And let's not forget about Maggie, Jackie and Ezra's family making an appearance every now and then. Aria was tired of the convincing cheques that she had received in the post from Diane, the constant emails asking to meet and convince her that Ezra and Aria weren't meant to be.  
It was all lies.  
Due to a change in events, and the given circumstances, Aria went to Hollis from three until eight at night, it altered whenever Ezra worked. They barely got to see each other on those three days in the week that Aria and Ezra went without each other for twelve hours. It's how it worked though, and they wouldn't change it.  
Not for the world.  
-A had disappeared just around the time that school ended, after Toby had been caught in the act again and sent to a rehabilitation unit. Aria was the only person that knew Spencer was seeing him still, visiting him daily if she could. The things people did for love, Aria knew how that was. She would always supposedly be with Aria when her visit came along,  
So things were brilliant. They were happy, both hoping to work at Rosewood. It was like they were finally set for life, everything that they had been through had come down to this.  
Malcolm, he was okay now. They would usually expect the weekly phone call, telling Ezra how he was, that he was starting soccer and baseball. That kind of stuff.  
"Ezra?" Aria called out, pulling the leather jacket from her body and placing it over the couch. The small snores coming from the corner of the apartment told Aria that they were asleep.  
Carefully, Aria dodged the different objects on the floor, glancing at Ezra laid on the bed, the small person laid beside him, splayed out on top of the covers. She couldn't help but smile at the sight before her, as she climbed over Ezra and the baby on the bed, plopping down beside them both near the wall.  
They had to admit, a baby at nineteen wasn't the best thing, but neither wanted to change it. It was their little girl, nobody else's. It was Scarlett that had caused the whole thing with Aria's parents, they just wouldn't accept it.  
"Good day?" Ezra mumbled sleepily, not daring to move. The four month old was clung tightly to Ezra's index finger, trying I substitute it with the pacifier in her mouth. Aria nodded once, running her fingertips through his messy brunette locks.  
"It was okay." She began, Ezra's eyes slowly opening. "How's she been?"  
He let out a weak laugh, his next words only a mumble. "She doesn't like Nutella, but she likes peanut butter."  
"Why would you give her that?" She tried to stifle a laugh, glancing down at the stirring baby.  
"Because she wouldn't eat anything. I tried her with a bottle, and that weird banana stuff. Nutella was the next best thing."  
"What did she do?"  
"Threw the tub on the floor and spat it all over the bed."  
Aria began to laugh then, Scarlett's eyes flying open in unison. She didn't cry, just searched her parents' expression for a moment, her grip still right on Ezra's finger.  
"Did Daddy feed you something yucky?" Aria said in a baby voice, causing Scarlett to let out a light giggle at her words. "He did, didn't he?" She wriggled around, waving her legs into the air.  
"Hey, no being mean." Ezra pushed his lips out in a pout, pulling a face at them both. "She did like watching the football though." He knew that'd get to Aria. She hated it when Ezra would treat Scarlett like a boy, watching the sports and things like that."Isn't that right?" Scarlett was giggling continuously at her parents, their playful fighting catching her by interest.  
"You're an asshole." Aria spat out teasingly, giggling along with her words. Ezra managed to pull his finger free, Scarlett beginning to whimper in response. He grabbed the tub of peanut butter from the couch, pulling it open and setting it on the bed. He then took her pacifier from her, dipping it into the peanut butter.  
"Watch this. This is how I got her to sleep." He placed the pacifier back in the baby's mouth, and she instantly grew silent. It took a matter of moments before her eyes were dropping closed again, and she was out like a light. Aria watched in awe, glancing at Ezra. He raised to his feet once more, collecting Scarlett in his arms and placing her into the small Moses basket beside him on the bed. "She was in a good mood today."  
"Good. She was being stubborn earlier." He glanced over his shoulder at her, a smirk on his lips. He shoot her a sarcastic look, her brows shooting up. "Don't blame me."  
"Well she doesn't get it from me, does she?"  
"You spoil her too much."  
"She loves me most, what can I say?"  
Aria glared at the older man, walking around the bed to wrap her arms around Ezra from behind, pressing kisses to his bare shoulder.  
"I missed you today."  
"I missed you too." He turned to face her, leaning down to brush a light kiss to her lips. Aria had cut her hair shorter now, it was shoulder length. "It's your turn today."  
"No, it was my turn yesterday." Aria argued stubbornly, pouting as she remembered that Ezra was on baby duty the previous day. "Fine."  
"Love you." He said quickly, pressing continuous kisses to her lips.  
"Hmm." Aria retorted, wrapping her arms around his torso and burying her face into his chest. She suddenly felt over tired, her eyes closing every few seconds.  
"Bed." Was all she heard, in which she didn't bother arguing. Ezra pulled the dress over her head, placing it on the cupboard before grabbing one of his shirts and wrapping it around her body. Aria didn't bother moving, she just stood still, rubbing at her eyes. "Hurry it up, Fitz." Aria said in a whisper once she was under the covers, Ezra rolling his eyes at her. Even when she was tired, she was stubborn. He switched the light off, climbing into bed beside her. She shuffled towards him, moving into his chest, her hand running up and down it. After a moment, Ezra reached underneath the covers, pulling out Scarlett's favourite stuffed toy. It was an elephant, and Mike had given it to her just after she was born. It was strange, having Mike in the apartment. He would usually stop by at least three times away, maybe more to see Scarlett. She had taken a liking to him, and was very fond of the boy. He placed it in Scarlett's cot beside her, before wrapping himself around Aria, who was asleep in seconds.


	2. Chapter 2

Ezra had only gotten a few hours sleep. He was overtired, so tired that he couldn't keep his eyes open. Aria was reluctant to wake up on Scarlett's last feed, so Ezra had to do it. It frustrated him, of course it did, but he wasn't going to say anything about it. He was that tired that he knew that if they started something, he'd say something that he knew he'd regret.  
"Go get Daddy, then." Aria said sleepily, setting Scarlett down beside Ezra as he rolled about on the bed. "Hungry?" Ezra only groaned, running his fingertips along his daughter's stomach to keep her entertained whilst he woke himself up. "You're not going into work today."  
His eyes opened then, he had to go in.  
"I have to."  
"No, you don't. You can barely keep your eyes open." Aria argued, Ezra nodding In agreement. He wasn't going to argue, he was too tired. Maybe she was right, a half day off wouldn't hurt. "Go back to sleep."  
Ezra didn't say another word.

She felt a little guilty for being the reason that Ezra hadn't been able to sleep much, it was her turn. She was just so tired, she couldn't wake herself up enough to move. After calling up the school and explaining the circumstances, they were more than happy to allow Ezra his half day off, a substitute would just have to be called in. She thanked them, setting the phone down and went back to making her daughter some food.  
Scarlett seemed occupied enough, tugging at the loose pieces of Ezra's hair, poking his face over and over again. She couldn't help but laugh at her determination to wake him.  
"Leave him alone, Scar." Aria warned, pointing a finger at her. She didn't seek phased at all. After another moment, Aria set down the bottle, making her way over to collect the baby, a pout on Scarlett's lips as Aria pulled her away. "He's sleeping." Just like always when she felt like she was being told off, Scarlett buried her face into the crook of Aria's neck, playing with the thin strap from the tank top she was wearing, Aria laughing at how innocent she seemed.  
"You get that from your Dad." She teased, bouncing the small baby up and down and continued stirring. She glanced at the clock, waiting for her usual call from Spencer.  
"Good morning." Aria said into the phone, Spencer's intention of calling showing right away. "Is everything okay?"  
"Toby went crazy." Spencer said through her sniffles, trying to take deep breaths in and then out.  
"What do you mean 'went crazy'?" Aria asked, noticing Ezra stirring in the bed. She immediately jumped at the chance, rushing and placing Scarlett beside him, mouthing out a "watch her." Ezra nodded sleepily, a wide smile spreading on his face as Scarlett gurgled, mumbling along.  
"I don't know what happened. I asked him when he was getting out, and he just lost it. Threw his chair across the room, started screaming and hammering his head against the wall." She took another breath. "I couldn't stop him."  
This wasn't a shock to Aria, she saw this happening a while back. He wasn't sane. "Are you on your way over?" She heard Spencer mumble out a yes, and said.  
"I can't go back looking like this."  
Aria offered her sympathy, hanging up and turning to Ezra.  
"Feeling better?" She said in the happiest voice that she could, folding her arms across her chest.  
Ezra nodded, blowing another raspberry on his daughters stomach, her giggles filling the room. "What's up? You have that look again."  
"What look?"  
"The over happy look."  
Aria sighed, glancing down at them both. "Spencer again." Ezra nodded, knowing that it wasn't a good subject. "She's on her way over."  
"So that means we're on our way out, correct?" He teased, wanting to give Spencer and Aria some time to talk and do what girls did. He would never understand it. With another sigh, Aria leant down to brush a kiss against Ezra's lips, whispering against them.  
"Give Mike a call. You can take Scarlett to see him whilst mum and dad are away." After contemplating the idea for several moments, Ezra agreed, sitting up in the bed.  
"Let's go, chubs." He teased the baby this time, blowing out his cheeks. Aria slapped him on the arm, narrowing her eyes at him. She hated when he said things like that. "I'm kidding, lighten up."  
"Not in the mood." Ezra rolled his eyes at her reply, grasping her by the face, a long, lingering kiss being placed upon her lips.  
"I love you." He whispered, Aria's mood switching instantly. "Don't you ever forget that." The babies cries disturbing their little moment.

In fifteen minutes, Ezra had managed to dress him and Scarlett, fed the both of them and slotted her into the car. He had snuck the small tub of peanut butter into the baby bag behind Aria's back, it was his one weapon.  
Thankfully, she slept most of the way towards Aria's old home, waking up just as he pulled up. His phone rung then, Mike's number popping up.  
"What's up?" Ezra said through the phone, placing Scarlett's pacifier into her mouth.  
"Dad came home early." Mike said in a mutter, glancing out the window. "We'll have to rearrange something." With a short reply, Ezra thought of what he could do with the next hour, knowing that he shouldn't go back. But what else was he supposed to do? It was the knock on the window that scared the living crap out of him, Byron stood before it with his arms folded.  
This wasn't going to end well.

"Thanks for being there for me." Spencer muttered, using the remaining few tissues to dab away her tears. The last few hours had been worse than she had expected. He hadn't done this before.  
Well, not really.  
"Toby's still a little sensitive, he just lost it. It's not the first time." Aria tried to argue, setting down Spencer's coffee on the table.  
"Not like this. He just.. He went for me." The memory wasn't thinkable. She couldn't.  
Aria could've made a smug comment, about how Toby ruined their lives. All their families, Aria hated him deep down. She had no choice but to hate him for what Toby had done. How could he have done such a thing? It was something they'd never found out. But she kept herself quiet, sipping awkwardly at her coffee to stop herself from saying a thing about it. "I'll try again tomorrow." Spencer was determiner, so of course Aria didn't argue.

"Aria?!" Ezra called out, setting Scarlett's car seat onto the floor once he walked through the door, swiftly removing her from it. "Guess who I ran into?"  
Aria groaned, shaking her head. "Please done tell me it was who I think it was."  
"Your Dad told me to say hi." Once more she groaned, taking Scarlett from Ezra and rocking her from side to side. "He started guilt tripping me. Telling me that if I loved you, I'd leave." She rolled her eyes, hating her Dad in that moment. He waited, knowing that the next part would upset her. "And he told me to take Scarlett with me."

"how many times has he asked you to do that? Eight times now?"

"Nine."  
Actually, she always hated her Dad.


	3. Chapter 3

The light knocks on the door is what disturbed Aria. She was happily sat with Scarlett between her legs, handing her the toys that she demanded, Ezra by her side. It was the times like this that they loved their life. They as agreed that Scarlett had gotten her intelligence from Ezra, and her stubbornness and creativity from Aria. It was a mini them.  
"Will you get that?" Aria said softly, shooting Ezra the most innocent look that she could. It was one he couldn't refuse. With a nod, he raised to his feet, the babies arms shooting up to him. "I think she wants to go with you."  
Ezra couldn't help but laugh, scooping the small girl up into his arms. "Now, let's see who decided to come and ruin family time." He teased, feeling Aria's intense glare on them. "I'm kidding."  
"Hmm." Was all he got back, Aria lifting herself up onto the couch. He had noticed that she wasn't in the best of moods today, something about her father, but he didn't question it.  
Pushing it to the back of his mind, Ezra opened the door, Byron's figure coming into sight. He rolled his eyes, glancing behind him at Aria, who wore the exact same expression.  
"What?" She snapped, arms crossing stubbornly over her chest. "If you're here to say something terrible, I'm slamming the door in your face." The small baby in Ezra's arms tried to reach out for the elderly man, as if she wanted him to hold her. Ezra wasn't having any of it, and pulled Scarlett back, holding her close to his chest.  
"Final chance." Byron began, pointing his index finger to Ezra, and then Scarlett. "They go, or I call social services."  
Both Ezra's and Aria's jaw dropped then.  
"You can't do that!" Aria yelled, a little too loudly, Scarlett beginning to cry shortly after. "She's my daughter"  
Byron rolled his eyes, tapping his foot impatiently. "And I'm your father. They're not good for you."  
"Neither are /you/."  
Byron said nothing more. Unsteadily, he stepped forward, trying to take the baby from Ezra's arms, but he stepped back, trying to soothe Scarlett.  
"You wish." He scoffed, holding her closer.  
"If you love my daughter..." Byron trailed out, making another grab for her. This time is was Aria that stepped forward, taking Scarlett from Ezra. "The reason they're not leaving is because he loves me."  
"Yeah, right." He scoffed, enclosing the space between Aria and himself, grasping at her arm. "Fine. Then I'll drag you out."  
Ezra knew he couldn't stay calm, it was impossible. Especially with Byron's grip on Aria. So in one quick motion he had Byron pinned against the doorframe, baring his teeth. "Leave my girlfriend, and my daughter alone, and get the fuck out of my apartment." He spat, not even noticing that Byron was sending a fist flying into Ezra's cheek.  
That made Ezra release Byron, the stinging sensation rising in his cheek. But, he managed to shove Byron backwards, slamming the door straight in his face.  
"Jesus Christ." Aria cursed, after placing Scarlett down on the floor beside all of the toys. She was back to Ezra's side in an instant, inspecting his face. "Are you okay?"  
"I'm fine." He muttered, the bruising already visible on his face. "Don't let him in again. Please."  
"I'll call Mom, see what she can do." She was panicking, Byron would keep his word. Her hands were shaking as she picked up the phone, Ezra's being placed on top of hers.  
He whispered, "Calm down." Immediately, she brought her hands to her face, sobbing furiously into them.  
"I can't lose her." He sighed, pulling her into his chest.  
"She isn't going anywhere." Pulling back, he pointed a finger at her, gurgling and bouncing around before the television screen. "See. Not going anywhere. She's happy here." After everything that they'd been through, they deserved to be happy.  
They spent a moment or so just holding each other, the clanking of the letter box causing Aria to pull back with a groan. She scooped up the letters, one catching her eye. It had both of their names on it.  
"What's that?" He said over the back of the sofa, Aria's curiosity getting the better of her. She shrugged, pulling the crisp white paper from the envelope. It was scruffy writing on the paper, it took Aria a few minutes to translate it into normal words. "Well?"  
"I can't read what it says?" She said through a sigh, handing Ezra over the letter. Ezra's brows furrowed, he immediately knew the handwriting. But he couldn't tell well where from.  
'Should've been mine.'

It read.

"What the hell does that mean?" Aria questioned with a raised brow, her eyes immediately moving down to Scarlett. "Are they talking about her?" She nodded her head in the babies direction, Scarlett flashing her a grin in response.  
"I'm not entirely sure. This isn't your Dads writing?" Ezra answered in a mutter, raking a hand through his dark hair. This was just fucking brilliant.  
"No." She shook her head, leaning over the couch to look at Ezra properly. "-A?"  
"Toby's not around anymore."  
It was then that Aria wanted to tell Ezra everything, she wanted to tell him about how Spencer-And most of the girls for that matter, spoke to Toby. Lying to him wasn't the best move, but Ezra didn't want Toby messing with his head again, especially now. But you have to face these things head on.  
"There was always more than one -A, Ezra. Mona, Toby." Aria began playing with the small frays of hair at the back of Ezra's head, pressing a kiss to his cheek. Getting worked up about it wouldn't help anyone. "Is -A back?"  
Ezra let out a frustrated groan, sinking into the couch. This was the last thing that they needed.  
"I fucking hope not."


	4. Chapter 4

Ezra thought that the letters, the threats had stopped. Aria knew otherwise. She also knew that lying to him wasn't the way to go about it, but the thing about Ezra, was that he fussed. The second that he would find out, Ezra would make sure to wrap both her and Scarlett in bubble wrap and ship them off to god knows where. That was the last thing Aria needed.  
It was just small things usually;  
Rattles,  
Pacifiers,  
Cards.  
So it didn't worry her too much.  
What was the harm in it? Aria thought it was just Byron, anyway, or Noel Kahn. No real threat.

~~~~  
She still had no idea how it'd gotten to this. Spencer was pulling her by the wrist, practically yanking her into the pale gates of the one place she didn't want to be.  
Radley.  
It'd been a month or so since Toby's vicious outburst, and Spencer had gone running back within seconds. Aria kept her mouth shut about it, though. It was nothing to do with her.  
Except now it was, because Spencer had pleaded Aria to come and see Toby, as he had wished. He had requested to see all three of the girls, but Caleb had banned Hanna from going anywhere near the crazy house, and Emily had flat out said no.  
So that left Aria, the look on Spencer's face could hardly have left Aria space to deny.  
"I can't believe that you're making me do this." Aria grumbled childishly, shooting Ezra a quick text back. She was at Spencer's, apparently. "He's going to go whacko."  
Spencer's eyes rolled almost instantly, nevertheless she continued to drag her down the cream, never ending hallway, screams and yells being heard every now and again from the rooms that they passed.  
"You agreed to come, Aria." She began, coming to a halt before the double doors. It was then that Aria wanted to crawl in to a hole and just disappear. "Besides, the nurses agreed that it'd be good for him."  
Good for him, not Aria.  
Light knocking was placed upon the white door, Spencer almost instantly pushing open the door, Toby glancing behind her at Aria almost immediately. She felt uncomfortable, out of place. The wall was filled with photos of himself and all of the girls, mainly Spencer, a dent noticeable in the wall slap bang in the middle.  
His 'innocent outburst' Aria snorted to herself, completely zoning out of the couples conversation. Her eyes landed on the one of herself and Toby, on the Halloween train. Before she had discovered out who Toby was, it was one of her favourites, pinned up on her wall. She had torn it down not three months later, throwing the remains into the bin. "Aria?" Spencer snapped, Aria immediately snapping back to her senses.  
"Hmm?" She tried to act happy about being here, trying to hide the awkwardness. It didn't seem to be working by the looks of it.  
"Come and sit down." Aria only nodded, adjusting her black and white checked dress, zipping up the leather jacket that she had picked out to match. She felt the need to dress up, no idea why. "Aria's been very helpful lately, she's the only person that I've been talking to about you."  
Toby nodded, only once to show his understanding of it all. Aria couldn't help but pity the guy, he looked so innocent.  
"Are Emily and Hanna going to be coming anytime soon?" Toby asked quietly, playing around with the jacket beside his bed.  
"Not today, they're busy shopping." Aria's gaze automatically shot towards Spencer, but she only motioned for her to keep quiet. "But Aria's agreed to come and visit you. Isn't that nice?" She could tell that the girl beside her was really struggling with this, she was acting like his mother, or a nurse. He spread a small, boyish smile, settling down onto the comforter.  
"How're you and Ezra?" Aria felt slightly disturbed by how kind he was being, but she wasn't coming back again, never. So why not just tell the guy? He wasn't going anywhere.  
"We have a daughter, Scarlett." Aria felt proud that she could tell someone that, she and Ezra had a daughter.  
"She's six months now, am I right?" She shot Spencer a questioning look, figuring that Spencer must've informed Toby about this.  
"Almost. In five days."  
"From what Spencer tells me, she's quite the beauty." An unwanted shiver ran through Aria at that point, she suddenly felt overprotective of her baby.  
"She's our little girl." She managed to reply in a weak tone, dragging her phone from her pocket. The home screen was enough to lighten her mood. It was picture of Aria, Ezra and Scarlett, laid on Ezra's bed, smiling, grinning happily. It was her life. It was taken no longer than three weeks, replacing the photo of Aria and Ezra over a year ago. That's exactly how long it'd been there.  
"Have the school backed off now, seeing as though you've left Rosewood?" It took her a moment to word it properly. 'Have the school stopped bugging you now that I'm not there to ruin your life?'  
Sounds much better.  
"I'm at Hollis now, so it's a lot easier. No more hiding."  
Unless you have anything to do with it, you life ruining arsehole.  
"That's good, Spencer's been keeping me up to date on everything, isn't that right, Spence?" Toby glanced in Spencer's direction, a grin settling on her face as she was finally mentioned.  
"I have indeed, Toby knows more than I do." They all laughed but Aria, who only raised her shoulders with a weak giggle.  
"Are you alright, Aria? You seem a little on edge."  
Yes, because you tried to kill me on numerous occasions, thanks a lot by the way.  
"I'm fine."  
"You know, I am sorry about what happened. It shouldn't of escalated that far."  
Sitting silent for a moment, Aria collected her purse that'd been placed beside her on the floor, the familiar pain about to return. She knew it was coming. In an instant she was on her feet, throwing the purse over her shoulder.  
"I can't do this." She apologised, already halfway towards the door. "I'm sorry."

It was past six when Aria returned to the apartment. She had to walk back, Aria couldn't call Ezra. No. That was the last thing that they all needed. So she decided on walking back rather than hailing a cab.  
Ezra was crawling around the apartment with Scarlett dragging herself away as quickly as possible, shuffling forward at a slow pace, her giggling filling the entire apartment.  
Scarlett's face lit up further as she set her gaze upon her mother, pausing in her tracks.  
"Mommy's home!" Ezra announced, Scarlett clapping her hands together and wafting her legs in the sit. He scooped her up, handing her over to Aria and quickly pressing a kiss to her lips. "Where've you been?"  
"Melissa came back from London, another heartbreak with Wren." Aria lied smoothly, laughing as Scarlett's hands tugged at her dark locks. "Nothing to worry about."


	5. Chapter 5

They had been bickering for a while now. Just stupid things, like who would wash the dishes, who would clean up the spilt milk on the sides. It had a bad effect on the baby, she seemed to notice it; And obviously hated it just as much as everyone else did. Not seeing her parents play fight and kiss was strange, but as a baby, she just didn't understand. Aria thought that he had found out where she had been, her paranoia had gotten the better of her, so blanking him was best. It was difficult in such a small apartment.

Ezra had had enough, he was sure of that. It wore him out.

So finally, after an entire day of just blanking each other without a care in the world, Ezra settled Scarlett into her Moses basket, his bare feet silently moving along the cold laminate flooring into the bathroom where Aria stood in the shower.

In an instant he had pulled back the shower curtain, arching a brow.

"I don't like this." He said in a confident tone, not wanting to show weakness. This needed to be sorted, now.

"You don't like what?" Aria murmured, letting the scorching water skim along her petite frame. She wasn't giving in.

"Blanking each other." She let out a discreet sigh, looking her boyfriend up and down. Ezra had done the same to Aria at least five times in the last thirty seconds. After not hearing another word, Ezra had begun tugging at his shirt, his jeans, his boxers and shoes, completely disclothing himself before stepping into the shower, nudging Aria aside.

"What're you doing?" She whispered out harshly, her insides beginning to ache at the sight before her.

He didn't speak, not yet. Instead, Ezra scooped Aria up, her legs instinctively wrapping around his torso as she was backed against the wall. She tried her absolute hardest not to laugh, her tiny fingertips tracing patterns along his muscular chest. "I'm fixing it." Those words were enough to send shivers along Aria's skin.

"Scarlett's next door, Ezra."

He placed his index finger to her lips, silencing her.

"Then you better not scream." With that he smashed his lips against her own, losing himself entirely.

"I can't believe we just did that." Aria panted through her quick breaths, turning into Ezra's chest. She traced patterns along it, comforted by this situation.

"I think I fixed it." He teased, locking his fingers in her own.

"You did." She placed her free hand onto his cheek, her lips finding Ezra's in a lingering kiss.

They sat for a moment, happy about the past hour and a half. It was them, what they had missed, a memory of their past life, what it was like before all of this baby business.

Just.. Perfect.

Obviously due to the circumstances, they couldn't just drop Scarlett with a friend and go out. Nobody was trusted to care for her, without calling someone. So they were stuck inside all day, three people in a once person apartment.

"We should probably move." She groaned internally, trying to untangle herself from Ezra. He stopped her, tightening his grip around her petite frame.

"She's not awake yet."

"She will be soon."

He didn't budge one bit, he was too wrapped up in this time with his girlfriend. The shower scene had led to a lot more than just a shower, but neither complained, it was a necessity to get back on track with their relationship, not let this affect them. He pulled at the thin blanket, pulling it over their limp bodies.

"What're we going to do about my dad?" Aria asked suddenly, glancing up at Ezra. They couldn't just ignore it, they had tried that, and look where that got them.

"I don't know. I guess we just have to try and make some kind of truce with him, before something happens and he keeps his word."

"Do you think that he will keep his word?"

Ezra rolled his shoulders in a small shrug, unsure of what lengths Byron would go to, just to get his daughter back,

She was gone a long while ago, she wasn't their little girl. Not anymore.

"I hope not. I can't lose you." His voice was at a low whisper, he couldn't lose the love of his life. Or his daughter, for that matter. They were a family, and they needed to stay together as a family.

"You're never going to lose me."

"Promise?" She leant forward to press a kiss against his chest, tapping her fingertips against it, whispering against his lips.

"I promise you."

Spencer had called three times already, but Aria couldn't pick up the phone. She couldn't talk to Spencer, definitely not. She couldn't explain to Spencer why she ran away, why she was so weak that she couldn't sit in the same room for longer than a half hour. She felt pathetic about it.

If she didn't answer soon, she knew that Spencer would turn up and tell Ezra everything. They were back on track, finally, and the last thing that he wanted was to find out about this.

She finally picked up her phone, shooting Spencer a text message. No guilt if you can't hear her voice.

Everything okay? X

She got a text back almost immediately, it told Aria how worried Spencer was.

Is your phone broken? I've called you like a hundred times.

Cringing, a strange feeling rose at the pit of Aria's stomach.

She shot back a reply.

Everything's fine. Things are a little hectic lately, talk soon x

With that she set down her phone, sighing to herself.

She had to get it over with, facing Spencer, hey. Maybe even Toby.

But not yet, she wasn't ready to do it yet.


	6. Chapter 6

"Thank you for babysitting, Spence." Aria said with a genuine smile, finally feeling comfortable to talk to her best friend again. It'd been just over two weeks since this whole Toby thing, and both knew that if it was brought up arguments would follow, so neither did. Toby was still mentioned, but both acted completely oblivious to the visit. Aria and Ezra had gotten back on track, pushing everything but their own little family aside to concentrate on themselves. Tonight they had decided to go out, be a couple again. Spencer had jumped at the chance to babysit her niece, Aria and Ezra really did need to get out more.

"Don't even think about coming back before eleven, I will lock you out." Spencer teased, her gaze shooting towards Scarlett, who played happily with her toys before the television. The things that amused children these days. "You two need some time alone."

"I just feel funny, leaving her here without me." She shrugged, Ezra's arms wrapping around her petite waist to pry her away. "Hold your horses, I'm coming." He immediately let go, his hands innocently raising into the air as he rushed towards his daughter, scooping her up into the air and pressing continuous kisses to the side of her head. She clung tightly to her father, reluctant to let go for the world. She was very fond of him, Scarlett's source of comfort. After a moment together, Aria rushed in, reaching her arms out to Aria, in which Scarlett gave the pair a confused look. She was torn. "My turn." Aria pushed out her lower lip, Scarlett immediately caving and taking Aria's offer, nuzzling into her neck. It was then that Aria wanted to cancel her plans with Ezra. Scarlett wasn't normally the cuddly type.

"I know that look, don't even think about it." Spencer warned, prying Scarlett from Aria's body and resting her on her own chest. Scarlett doing exactly the same as before. "Now go."

The couple soon left the apartment building, set on having their favourite meal at their favourite vegan restaurant across town. It was shortly after Aria and Ezra had gotten back together near the end of senior year that they decided to revisit it, it'd been their favourite ever since. It took less than forty minutes for the cab to drop them off, Aria adjusting her strapless cream dress before slipping out of the car, Ezra following suit.

"It took a lot of guts for you to leave her tonight." Ezra said suddenly. Lacing his hands with her own and tugging her in the direction of the restaurant. "I saw how hard it was for you to let her go." He understood that. She was Aria's pride and joy.

She shrugged, taking a seat on her chair and allowing Ezra to tuck her in. "She's our baby, we haven't left her with anyone else in almost seven months."

He reached other the dark burgundy table, tucking a strand of her chestnut hair behind her ear. "She's fine, Baby. Spencer's taking good care of her, just chill out, okay?"

With a nod, Aria silenced herself, taking in a deep breath just as a quirky waitress shot to their table, practically gleaming in excitement as her eyes laid on Ezra. He acted completely oblivious, high school Aria kicking in almost immediately as she ran her foot along Ezra's leg, glancing up at the waitress to mouth 'Mine.' The bubbly girls act almost immediately dropped, but she kept up her smile. She felt lucky tonight.

They both sat silently, staring at each other in awe. They always had a way of communicating without words, it was cute. That's what Hanna had called it. How they just seemed to stare at each other and know exactly what the other was thinking or feeling.

Cute.

"What?" Ezra said softly, leaning his elbows on the table and his chin resting in his palm.

"I want us to get married." Aria blurted out suddenly, nodding firmly as she averted her gaze. "Not now, but soon. Scarlett needs to be a Fitz, we both do."

Ezra couldn't stop himself from grinning, and was about to answer when Aria's phone rung, cutting off before she could answer it. This repeated three times, before Aria arched a brow. "It's an unknown number." That's when Spencer's called ID popped up, Aria automatically answering and placing the phone to her ear. "Spencer? Everything okay?"

She could hear Spencer's sniffles, dead silence in the background. "She was flustered and continuously throwing up and she wouldn't stop crying."

"Calm down, Spencer." She could hear the humiliation, terror and sadness in Spencer's voice, she was petrified.

"I tried to call you before, we're at the emergency room." Aria's heart jumped in her threat, her lungs losing all air.

This was why she didn't want to leave.


End file.
